F 392 M^ 


Copy 1 




NOTES 




ON THE 




•UPPER RIO GRANDE; 


BY 




BKYANT P. TILDEN, JR. 




EXPIOEED IN THE MONTHS OF OCTOBER AND NOTEMBER, 


1846, 


^ ON BOARD THE U. S. STEAMER MAJOR BROWN, 




••V 

COMMANDED BY 


• 


CAPT. MARK STERLING, 




OF FITTSBTJKGH, 




BYORDEROF 




MAJOR GENERAL PATTERSON, U. S. A., 




COMMANDING THE SECOND DIVISION, ARMY OF OCCUPATION, 


• 


MEXICO. 




PHILADELPHIA: 




LINDSAY AND BLAKISTON. 




1847. 


i 



RECENT EXPLORATION 



RIO GRANDE. 



" Lieutenant B. P. Tilden, of the 3d Regiment of Infantry, and 
now aide-de-camp to Major General Patterson, was, on the first day 
of October last, detached by that officer on board of the Steamer 
Major Brown, commanded by Captain Mark Sterling, of Pittsburg, 
for the purpose of proceeding as far as possible up the Rio Grande, — 
of ascertaining if that river was navigable to any high point, — and, 
in that case, of defining it precisely. The service was one of some 
adventure, the river passing through a debateable country, infested by 
the partisans of the enemy, and hiding in its waters peculiar and un- 
known perils. Lieutenant Tilden was therefore placed in command 
of twenty non-commissioned officers; and arms were placed on board 
for the boat's crew, numbering, all told, twenty men. The account 
of this expedition contains much valuable information, and may be 
considered as perfectly successful, testing the navigability of the river ; 
for we must remember the expedition was made when the water was 
at the lowest ebb. The expedition has unfolded much that was valu- 
able, and acting on the hints received from it, contracts have already 
been formed and arrangements made to supply the American steamers 
on the coast of the Gulf with the coal from Guerrera, which is said to 
resemble much the cannel coal with which we are familiar. Charts 
of the route of the expedition accompany the work." — United States 
Gazette, Philadelphia. 



n 



NOTES 



UPPER RIO GRANDE, 



BY 



BRYANT P. TILDEN, JR. 



EXPLORED IN THE MONTHS OF OCTOBER AND NOVEMBER, 1846, 

ON BOARD THE U. S. STEAJ^IER MAJOR BROWN, COMMANDED 

BY CAPT. MARK STERLING, OF PITTSBURGH.- 



BY ORDER OF 



MAJOR GENERAL PATTERSON, U. S. A. 



COMMANDING THE SECOND DIVISION, ARMY OF OCCUPATION, 
MEXICO. 







PHILADELPHIA: 
LINDSAY & BLAKISTON. 

1847. 



Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1847, by 

G. R. WRIGHT. 

in the clerk's office of the District Court of the United States for the 
Eastern District of Pennsylvania. 



STEREOTYPED BY J. FAGAN. 
PRINTED BY C. SHERMAN. 



(2) 



f ^^ . 



TO DR. A. RACKLIFFE, 

GUERRERA, MEXICO. 

In thus bringing your name before the pubHc, my 
dear sir, beheve me, I am actuated by a sense of jus- 
tice, prompted perhaps by a feeUng of friendship, such 
as naturally draws lovers of the adventurous together. 

A few short days have been passed by us in com- 
pany, in exploring regions, yet to be made known to 
our countrymen at large. 

You are generally believed to have been the first 
navigator of the Rio Grande, in American-built flat- 
boats ; and although circumstances have not allowed 
me to avail myself of your chart of the " Rio Bravo 
del Norte," I trust that some day it will be brought 
before the public in a suitable manner, doing justice 

(iii) 



iv DEDICATION. 

to its delineator, and affording a correct drawing of 
the river, from its mouth to the "Presidio de Rio 
Grande," with all its courses and distances correctly 
laid down, during an experience of nearly seventeen 
years. The expedition alluded to in the first part of 
my notes was Colonel Austin's, which was undertaken 
some fourteen years since, when, with your assistance, 
acting as pilot, a steamboat drawing over five feet of 
water, ascended the Rio Grande, to a point above 
the mouth of the Alcantro. 

THE AUTHOR. 

Camargo, Mexico, 
Dec. 1, 1846. 



PREFACE. 



Much does the writer of the following pages regret, 
that time is not allowed him to prepare a more detailed 
statement, touching the very interesting portion of 
country he has had an opportunity of observing. 

The sketch accompanying these pages is to be re- 
garded merely in the light of the field notes of a 
survey. The general course of the river is correctly 
given ; and although the lengths of the bends are not 
stated, their courses and their characteristics are accu- 
rately laid down. 

Both the notes and the sketch offered, are the re- 
sults of actual observation, and will serve to convey 
a better idea of the Upper Rio Grande, than an elabo- 
rately-finished drawing might do by itself. 



(V) 



NOTES ON THE 

UPPER RIO GRANDE, 



In offering the following pages to the public, the 
author is fully alive to the importance of adhering to 
simple facts, without adorning or embellishing the 
naked truth ; it being hoped and believed by himself 
and his friends, that even his humble efforts may have 
their effect in enlightening some of his fellow-country- 
men upon matters, now of importance to the interests 
of American enterprise. 

That portion of the Rio Grande — as that mighty 
tributary to the Gulf of Mexico, the " Rio Bravo del 
Norte" has been improperly named ; but which name 
having become Americanized, will be adhered to in 
these pages — below the Rio San Juan, has long been 
rendered familiar to the public mind through more able 
writers. It is therefore unnecessary for that part of 
the river to be described in this particular instance. 

Steamboats drawing five feet of water, it is well 
known, have plied between the mouth of the Rio 
Grande and the town of Camargo, in Mexico, on the 
right bank of the San Juan, at a distance by water of 

CO 



8 NOTES ON THE 

four hundred and fifty miles from the Gulf. And boats 
drawing three and a half and four feet, can at all times 
ply between the above named points. The practica- 
bility of navigating the Rio Grande to any town above 
the San Juan, has never till very recently been fairly 
attempted ; nor has a fair and careful examination and 
report of the character of this part of the river been 
made, until the United States' steamer, Major Brown, 
drawing not over two feet, ascended, in the month of 
October, 1846, to Laredo, in Texas, having touched 
at Mier, on the right bank of the Rio Alcantro or 
Alamo, and at Reveilla or Guerrera, on the left of the 
Rio Salado, in Mexico. 

The Rio Grande above the San Juan, has long been 
pronounced impracticable. And with but one excep- 
tion, which occurred so long since as to have become 
either forgotten or misbelieved, all who have attempted 
to ascertain the practicability of this river higher up, 
have speedily returned, making adverse reports, each 
sustaining the assertions of the others. Unwilling to 
rely implicitly on such reports, and believing that an 
exploration, faithfully performed, might result in the 
opening of a military communication, those having 
authority directed an exploration to be made, with that 
end in view. The officer to whom the charge of the 
exploration was entrusted, was accordingly placed on 
board the United States' steamer, Major Brown, a 
boat selected with a view to this particular service, 
and commanded by Captain Mark Sterling, of Pitts- 



UPPER mo GRANDE. 9 

burg, with a detachment consisting of nineteen privates 
and a non-commissioned officer. The boat's crew, all 
told, numbered twenty-seven. Muskets for every in- 
dividual, with plenty of ammunition and one month's 
provisions, were placed on board ; and on the first day 
of October, 1846, this party started, with orders to 
proceed nearly three hundred miles up the Rio Grande, 
and as far above the point thus reached as practicable; 
in order to ascertain whether or not it were possible 
to open a desired military communication between 
Camargo and Presidio de Rio Grande. 

The armistice after the " battle of Monterey," had 
just been trespassed upon, if not violated, by the 
murder of two American soldiers near Camargo, in 
a shocking manner, by the Mexicans ; Canales's band 
of desperadoes were on the alert ; disbanded Ranchero 
troops along the borders, and the Camanche and Lippan 
Indians, were exercising their propensity to plunder 
and destroy, unable or unwilling to distinguish Ameri- 
can from Mexican, where temptation and power were 
sufficiently strong to invite them to success. These 
facts, and others, supposed to be equally, if not more 
alarming, were presented, discussed, and dismissed, 
with the usual result. All armed Mexicans who might 
be found in the vicinity of the Rio Grande, unable or 
unwilling to give an account of themselves, were to be 
disarmed, captured, or destroyed, as might become 
necessary ; as they were then to be considered as 
outlaws and enemies to mankind. 



10 NOTESONTHE 

•From the mouth of the San Juan to that of the 
Alcantro, on the right bank of which, and at a distance 
of three or four miles from the Rio Grande, is the 
town of Mier, is a distance of about forty miles. With 
but one exception, no obstacle causing delay presented 
itself This occurred at a place some ten miles below 
Mier ; and even this was owing to an adherence to a 
wrong direction. 

The town of Mier contains from 4000 to 6000 in- 
habitants, and has already occupied its full share of 
attention, through the medium of the American press. 
Its manifold resources will probably remain undeve- 
loped, until American genius shall have directed atten- 
tion and capital to that quarter. Its neighbouring 
ranches supply its every-day necessaries of Hfe. Its 
water-power, which might be employed in the manu- 
facture of woollen and cotton stuffs, is lying unnoticed, 
while the raw material for each may be procured in 
the vicinity, with but little labour. Upon the opening 
of the navigation of the Rio Grande to the commercial 
world, American domestic goods will find a ready 
market all along this south-western frontier. Herds 
of cattle, containing thousands, and flocks of sheep 
and goats, containing tens of thousands, are not un- 
frequently to be seen, that, by proper care and manage- 
ment, would feed and clothe almost half the world. 
Horns and hoofs, instead of being reserved for proper 
uses, are almost always thrown away. 

Beyond Mier the character of the country changes 



UPPER RIO GRANDE. 11 

for the better. The land is more uniform in its ap- 
pearance ; fertile bottoms, with strength and depth of 
soil, are on both sides of the Rio Grande. And these 
are frequently backed by bottom bluffs, the shores being 
for the most part a narrow strip of sand or gravel, 
surmounted by river bluffs of various heights. The 
willow tree, and occasionally the white cypress, occur 
near the river. The musquit, ebony, and rose-wood, 
or a wood much like it, abound in all directions. All 
of these furnish a handsome and durable wood, well 
suited for light cabinet work. 

Early on the morning of the fourth of October, 
several mounted armed Mexicans appeared on the 
American shore. The boat's speed was checked, and 
the Mexicans, through an interpreter, were requested 
to stop, and were informed that those on board wished 
to speak to them. Whereat they turned their horses' 
heads, and started in a gallop towards a small stone 
fort, on a hill just ahead of the boat, where others 
appeared to be waiting. Four or five shots were then 
fired, which wounded only one of them, and that but 
slightly. The boat being stopped, and signals made, 
two of them were finally prevailed upon to come on 
board, without their arms, by the displaying of a white 
flag. They said they had been told to run, or they 
would be fired upon, and that the rest of their party 
had taken to the chapparel with their wounded com- 
rade. By their own account, they were procuring 
cattle for an American at Mier, and were armed for 



12 NOTESONTHE 

defence against the Indians. The stone fort on the 
hill was for this latter purpose. On comparing notes 
with the bungling interpreter, their statement appeared 
plausible, and after taking something to eat and drink, 
they were suffered to depart without molestation. 

There are parts of the river above the Alcantro, 
and below the Salado, requiring ample motive power 
in order to stem the current. Although the musquit 
wood does pretty well in making steam, no boat ought 
to attempt to run on the river without coal. It became 
necessary to stop the Major Brown more than once on 
this part of the river, in order to get up steam enough 
to proceed with. There are no obstacles whatever 
between the above named rivers, not obvious at a 
glance to any experienced boatman, and none which it 
is not perfectly easy to avoid. 

The town of Guerrera, or Reveilla, is situated near 
the left bank of the Salado, twelve miles from its 
mouth, and at a distance of about eight miles from the 
Rio Grande, by land. 

The Rio Grande, at the time the exploration was 
commenced, was supposed to be at its lowest stage. 
The Rio Salado was evidently full. The freshness and 
verdure which pleases the eye on entering the Salado, 
is soon succeeded by an appearance of dearth and 
famine. Hills rise abruptly, exhibiting a sparse vege- 
tation, consisting of a scraggy scrub, and of the cactus 
tribe in many varieties. Blackened rocks and escarp- 
ments, exposing to view many colours, or rather shades, 



UPPER RIO GRANDE. 13 

passing through black, yellow, red, and white, lead one 
involuntarily to exclaim — and what next ! Just below 
the town, near the foot of which the boat was moored, 
is a scene well worthy the attention of the artist. On 
the right of a large island, near the centre of the river, 
are the "Guerrera Falls," extending in a horse-shoe 
form to the right bank, and of over twenty feet fall ; 
while on the other side, deep and roaring waters rush, 
tumbling headlong in one extended rapid, as if mad- 
dened at their neighbours for having outstripped them 
by their desperate leap, and determined to win the 
goal at every hazard. 

Guerrera, as the town is most commonly called, was 
founded more than one hundred years since, and was 
first selected by the Spaniards as a missionary station 
among the Indians. Indeed, such was the origin of 
nearly all the Mexican towns on and near the Rio 
Grande. 

The rumour of coal being in the vicinity, was suffi- 
cient to warrant a thorough exploration of the whole 
neighbourhood. And in two days, from six to eight 
tons of a hard bituminous coal, of a first-rate quality, 
was placed on board the Major Brown. Red and 
yellow ochre, and a tolerably pure brimstone, and also 
nitre in abundance, are found in large quantities within 
a circumference of eleven miles from the town. A 
small quantity of silver ore was found in the neigh- 
bourhood of the coal. The stone among which it was 
discovered, is a firm sandstone. At a distance of about 
2 



14 NOTESONTHE 

ten miles from Guerrera are two sulphur springs, pos- 
sessing nearly the same properties and qualities as the 
far-famed Blue Lick waters. These springs appear 
side by side, having a difference of level of two feet. 
Probably they are but one, contained in an inverted 
syphon, the lower one running over, while the other is 
receiving a constant supply. The citizens of Guerrera 
resort to these waters on account of their healing vir- 
tues, whether suffering from ordinary sickness, or from 
disease of any kind. The Salado derives its name 
from the properties of its waters, which appear to con- 
tain at least one of the sulphur salts. Evaporation, 
produced by the heat of the sun, frequently leaves a 
white salt on the rocks near its shores ; and this, on 
applying heat, emits a faint sulphurous odor. 

The ranches, from which this town derives its sup- 
plies, are for the most part on the Texas side of the 
Rio Grande, opposite the mouth of the Salado. The 
town contains 8000 inhabitants, and exhibits an ap- 
pearance of comfort and ease, if not of wealth. 

The boat was literally thronged, day and night, 
during the three days that she lay at Guerrera. A 
second and a third table were required at almost every 
meal, for the accommodation of visitors, who ate either 
from hunger or curiosity. Their astonishment and 
wonderment at everything connected with the ma- 
chinery of the boat was truly amusing. The Alcalde 
remarked, "Those Americans can do anything they 
like, and it is no use fighting against them. They can 



UPPER RIO GRANDE. 15 

make iron into any shape they please." On the boat's 
approaching the town, a man galloped to the Alcalde's 
house, and informed him that "the Americans were 
coming in a thing that split the rocks right in two, 
forcing a passage for itself." The fact was, he saw 
the boat ascending a deep and narrow channel, where 
the river falls diagonally over rocks to the other side. 
The Catholic priest affected much astonishment, that 
the "American Bible should be so hke the Roman 
Catholic Bible." Entertainments were made in honour 
of the Major Brown's arrival, at which many of the 
boat's company were present, and expressed themselves 
highly gratified at the beauty and courtesy of the 
women, and at the cordiality of the men. The strongest 
desire was manifested by very many of the citizens, 
that peace might be soon established on a permanent 
footing between Mexico and the United States. 

While there, a party of Lippan Indians made a 
descent upon some of the neighbouring ranches, and 
carried off five little boys, killed several men, and 
wounded others. Two of the wounded men passed the 
night of their mishap on board of the boat. Their 
wounds were dressed ; and after having been rendered 
as comfortable as circumstances would permit, they 
were carried to town the next morning on litters. The 
citizens generally evinced much gratitude for the kind- 
ness shown their unfortunate friends, and begged that 
the Americans would send troops for their protection. 
They expressed a desire to overthrow the " Military 



16 NOTES ON THE 

Anarchy," denominated "Government," that has so 
long prostrated the whole genius of the " Mexican Na- 
tion." " Only let us live on the other side of the ' Rio 
Bravo del Norte,' " said a young man, " and we will 
become Americans too. The i^mericans are just, 
humane, and generous in war, while our tyrannical 
oppressors despoil us of our dearest rights in peace." 

Guerrera is at a distance of nearly one hundred 
miles from the mouth of the Alcantro, by water. The 
remarks made concerning the natural sources of wealth 
about Mier, apply with more than double the force in 
the case of Guerrera. And it is further worthy of 
remark, that the country near the head waters of the 
Salado, abounds in timber of large dimensions. 

Early on the morning of the eighth of October, an 
immense crowd of all ages, sexes, and conditions, 
thronged the shore, to take a farewell of the Major 
Brown. Acclamations, waving of scarfs, handkerchiefs, 
shawls, and blankets, with wishes for a prosperous 
voyage, and a speedy return, were in sight and in 
hearing, until the boat's speed placed her beyond reach 
of either. 

The landing for boats is about one mile and a half 
below the town. Above the Rio Salado, the Rio Grande 
presents a series of continued shoals, rocks, ripples, 
and rapids. And, after swinging on a rock, and passing 
through a circuitous channel, the boat grounded at the 
foot of a large island, having apparently plenty of 
water on each side of it. Nearly every foot of these 



UPPER RIO GRANDE. 17 

passages was carefully sounded. The passage to the 
left had an average and pretty uniform depth of five 
and a half feet of water; but at its head it appeared 
closed by a bar of sand and gravel, where the water 
was so shoal, that even the yawl could not be forced 
over it. The right hand passage afforded plenty of 
water, but it was ascertained that points of rock were 
standing straight up from the bottom of it. Appre- 
hensive of a succession of similar obstacles in advance, 
a critical examination of the river above, to the distance 
of six miles, was made by a party of twenty ; fifteen 
men, under charge of a non-commissioned officer, pass- 
ing up along shore, while the remainder were employed 
in the yawl. The whole party encamped, or rather 
bivouacked, at sundown, on the Mexican side, in com- 
pany with a party of Rancheros, who were protecting 
their flocks, and had constructed a large fold, and a 
bower, for temporary shelter. It seemed preferable to 
encamp with these people, rather than to give them a 
chance of making a night attack with any hope of 
success. And rather than risk a Mexican knife across 
one's throat, or between one's ribs, it was deemed not 
imprudent to decline their hospitable invitation to par- 
take of their lodgings and fare, in too close a proximity. 
Accordingly, while the Rancheros were sleeping or 
waking inside of their enclosure, the boat's party were 
quietly lying on their arms, each man a sentinel, just 
outside and around them. 

Some of the Carrice Indians, of whom many are 



18 NOTESONTHE 

peons to the Mexicans, were of the above named 
party, and were armed with bows and arrows. Their 
bow, hke that of the Lippans and the Camanches, is 
short, and is for the most part made of the sap wood 
of the ebony tree. Their arrows are pointed in a 
diamond-shaped head, with iron or steel. One pecuh- 
arity of their arrow, not met with in those of many 
other tribes, is, that they are frequently made hollow, 
and with grooves, for the purpose of letting the air into 
a wound, which is most disastrous in its effects, causing 
the whole wound, to its entire depth, to be inflated. 
A few trials of skill with these weapons, convinced 
their owners that there were American marksmen by 
no means inferior to themselves. These people were 
engaged in packing wool to take to Guerrera, for ship- 
ment to Matamoras. The fine and the coarse wool, 
together with a pretty fair allowance of goats' hair, 
were all being packed together in the same bag, to be 
sold as wool. The thorns, which grow on almost 
everything in this country, save much trouble in 
shearing. Of all this the merchants well know how to 
take advantage to their own profit. 

On returning to the steamboat the next morning, it 
was reported, that if the boat could be possibly got 
over the place just before her, it was barely possible 
she might get on much further ; and that a good river 
was to be seen in the distance, from the bivouack of 
the night previous. The river having been reported at 
its lowest stage, by those pretending to a knowledge 



UPPER RIO GRANDE, 19 

of the matter, it was natural to infer that it would soon 
rise. Consequently, a slight fall which had been noticed 
while the boat remained stationary, was not regarded 
as of much account. By the almost incessant exertions 
of all the officers and crew, including the guard, the 
boat was made to pass over a distance of nearly a 
quarter of a mile during the day. One day more saw 
her over three miles further ; and the day following 
she made more than twenty-five miles in a good river. 
A remarkable passage in this part of the river is 
well worthy of notice. At a distance of some twenty 
miles above the Salado is a reef, stretching diagonally 
across the river for one mile in extent. Over this reef 
the water falls in some places two feet. And just below 
its centre, nearest the American shore, is a passage of 
a hundred feet or more, through which the main body 
of the water passes, forming a strong and deep rapid. 
Power and direction are all that is requisite, in order 
to pnss up or down this passage in safety. 

After passing safely, in deep water, by a succession 
of reefs jutting out from the Mexican shore, an accident 
occurred, which threatened to dash the boat to pieces, 
and imminently to endanger the lives of all on board. 
Just at sundown, in attempting to mount a deep cur- 
rent which was falling over a hollow in a wide reef, 
the boat swung on and between two large rocks, owing 
to a want of power. There she reeled to and fro, the 
force of the current momentarily gaining upon her; 
and it seemed as though she must either fairlv roll 



20 NOTESONTHE 

over, or else break in two. Captain McGowan, a well- 
known pilot, was at the wheel ; and Captain Sterling, 
the commander of the boat, was in a dozen different 
places almost at the same time. A momentary con- 
sultation between these two, followed by a few rapid, 
brief, and distinct orders, which were as promptly and 
as coolly obeyed as though nothing extraordinary de- 
pended on their successful execution, soon placed the 
boat in comparative safety. And in a few moments 
more, by the skilful management of the steersman, and 
the attention of the engineers, she was safely landed 
on the American side. 

At one ranche, where the boat stopped to wood, 
some Mexicans having been permitted to visit on 
board, offered the captain a choice of a beef from a 
large herd, as a present, stating that they had heard 
of the steamboat's having been at Guerrera. They 
declined receiving pay in return, but were prevailed 
upon to accept a small present, consisting of two coarse 
shirts, two bottles of coffee, and three or four pounds 
of sugar. On being requested, they exhibited some 
papers, which were observed to be in the hats of two 
of them, for perusal. They were orders from the Al- 
calde at Guerrera to furnish beef, and conveying intel- 
ligence of the " Battle of Monterey," whereby they 
were informed that the Americans had lost three thou- 
sand men killed and wounded, and that the Mexicans 
had lost but five hundred ; but that the latter had sur- 
rendered to the Americans. They laughed at the dis- 



UPPER RIO GRANDE. 21 

crepancy themselves, and said that their rulers always 
tried to deceive them. They contrasted in the strongest 
light, the robberies perpetrated by their own soldiery, 
with the good treatment that their people uniformly 
received at the hands of the Americans. 

From the twelfth to the twenty-fourth of October, 
but slow progress was made in ascending the Rio 
Grande, owing principally to a succession of reefs, 
having but few passages between them, and all of which 
were of doubtful practicability to the first steam navi- 
gators of this part of the river. Passages between 
islands and the main shore on either side, appearing to 
be entirely closed by reefs or chains of rocks, were by 
turns passed through, by warping up stream. Only a 
few snags occur as far up as Laredo ; and these last 
scarcely need to be removed. The whole difficulty 
consists in the narrowness of the passages through the 
reefs, all of which may be easily widened at a com- 
paratively slight expense. For a distance of forty or 
fifty miles below Laredo, the country on both sides of 
the river is, with one exception, hilly, and near the Rio 
Grande, rocky. Nearly the whole rock formation is a 
sandstone, for the most part constantly forming near 
the river ; the intense heat of the sun, succeeding long 
and heavy rains, soon hardens the alluvial deposits into 
rock. Strata of gravel are frequently to be seen, which, 
on being traced out, lead to a compact conglomerate 
mass, now forming. Many of the bluffs exhibit near 
their bases large strata of fire-clay, of the best quality. 



22 NOTESONTHE 

Coal is frequently to be seen, as is also nitre and brim- 
stone, in one neighbourhood. But the most singular 
appearances to a casual observer are, what might be 
called calcareous conglomerates. Entire hills are to 
be seen, that are composed almost wholly of what 
appears to be a collection of large sea oyster-shells, of 
nine or ten inches in length, and two or three inches in 
thickness. At a distance of twenty-five miles below 
Laredo, is a reddish-coloured bluff, nearly one hundred 
feet in height, which contains a great many petrifac- 
tions of roots. These last appear to be impregnated 
with a carbonate of iron, the bark fibres and rings 
being perfectly distinct. 

The exception just alluded to is some fifty miles 
below Laredo, on the Texas side of the Rio Grande. 
There, a small stream, the only one thus far observed 
not entirely dry, on this side of the river, flows through 
a low valley, the only valley deserving the name on the 
whole route. For some distance below and above this 
point, the land slopes gently towards the north-west on 
the Texas side, and is rather level than otherwise on 
the opposite side of the river. 

On the twenty-fourth of October, the Major Brown 
astonished the people of Laredo by her arrival at that 
port, destined beyond dispute to become the head of 
navigation on the Rio Grande. 

This town lies on both sides of the river, and is at 
a distance of about seven hundred miles by water from 
its mouth. Texan Laredo contains about fifteen hun- 



UPPER RIO GRANDE. 23 

dred inhabitants, and its buildings are for the most 
part of stone. In Mexican Laredo the buildings are 
mostly of cane, and of wood and mud, and it numbers 
not far from five hundred inhabitants. This town is 
important in a commercial point of view, being on the 
direct route from San Antonio de Bexar, in Texas, to 
Monterey, at a distance of one hundred and fifty miles 
from the former place, and about two hundred and fifty 
miles from the latter. The resources belonging legiti- 
mately to these two extreme points, both separately, 
and taken in connection with each other, are too well 
understood to require particular notice here. 

Laredo has but few points of attraction for the agri- 
culturist or the manufacturer. It possesses mines, it 
is true, both of coal and nitre ; but its growth and 
prosperity must follow from its very fortunate natural 
position. After a hundred thousand dollars shall have 
been expended in the proper improvement of the river 
above Mier, boats drawing four feet can readily ply 
between the mouth of the Rio Grande and Laredo. 
And in the middle stage of the river, boats with suffi- 
cient power require only the services of a pilot. 

Owing to the unexpected falling of the river, it was 
deemed inexpedient to attempt to proceed beyond La- 
redo, previous to making an exploration further up. 
Accordingly, after a few days had been occupied in 
preparing an official report of the progress of the ex- 
pedition thus far, a party of four, among whom were 



24 NOTESONTHE 

two of the boat's pilots, and one of the engineers, ac- 
companied by Doctor RackHffe as a guide and inter- 
preter, started on horseback for Presidio de Rio Grande, 
for the purpose of examining the river between that 
point and Laredo, in such a boat as they might be able 
to procure. A respectable Mexican wishing to travel 
in their company, for the sake of protection against 
Indians, was permitted to do so ; and he proved to be 
an excellent travelling companion. Leaving Laredo 
an hour or two before sundown, on the twenty-ninth 
of October, the party reached Presidio on Sunday 
morning, the first of November. The distance by land 
is not much over one hundred miles. The route lies 
for the most part through an uninteresting country. 
Sometimes it passes through immense plains, contain- 
ing little vegetation, sometimes descending abruptly 
into, or rising from deep ravines or gullies ; and again 
over a wide, sandy desert, with scarce any vegetation 
at all, save a musquit chapperal once in a while, varied 
by the casual appearance of the prickly pear. About 
forty miles from Presidio de Rio Grande is a field for 
lovers of the curious. At this place there is a basin 
of perhaps forty miles in circumference, exhibiting 
many appearances of ruins. In every direction on the 
hills, are to be seen columns and walls in ruins, and on 
the desert these occur likewise in many places. Some 
of these columns appeared in sixes and in threes, equi- 
distant, forming sides to what may have been enclo- 



UPPER RIO GRANDE. 25 

sures of some kind. Some are round and some square. 
And all have an appearance of having been the work 
of man. The stones composing these are, both sand- 
stone and limestone. Many are cemented together, 
leaving scarcely the trace of a joint, if they be works 
of art. Others are disjointed, and stand like boulders, 
appearing as though some mighty water-course had, 
in ages past, swept everything around them away, 
leaving these monuments of its power to tell of its ex- 
istence in ages to come. Be this as it may, there are 
a great many of these appearances of ruins ; and in 
peaceful times, when neither Indian nor Mexican shall 
be prowling about, some antiquarian or geologist may 
discover and reveal the secret of these walls and 
columns. The Mexicans believe them to be the ves- 
tiges of some ancient city, which was in ruins before 
the Spaniards first came to Mexico. 

The country between Laredo and Presidio, in 
Mexico, shows but few signs of cultivation ; being for 
the most part used, wherever enclosures do occur, as 
pens for cattle or sheep. 

The town of Presidio de Rio Grande, or of the 
" Garrison of the Rio Grande," is situated about six 
miles from General Wool's crossing, at the river, and 
contains two thousand inhabitants. This town is, 
without exception, the prettiest one on our south- 
western frontier. Nearly every dwelling has its garden 
or yard ; and the whole town is plentifully and conve- 
3 D 



26 NOTESONTHE 

niently irrigated. Its style of building, like that in the 
other towns mentioned, is tasteful, and even striking 
in effect, but most wretchedly meagre and insignificant 
in detail. All the Mexican towns have an appearance 
of antiquity, owing in a very great measure to the 
materials used for construction, and to a heavy and 
clumsy solidity of structure, often mis-styled massive. 

Re-crossing the Rio Grande near Presidio, Captain 
Moore's politeness furnished the party from Laredo 
with a dug-out, which had been much cut up, and 
sunken on the Texas side some time previous. This, 
with the assistance rendered by a part of his com- 
mand, was, in about two days and a half, converted 
into the semblance of a boat, patched and boarded 
until pronounced sea-worthy; when, with the exception 
of Dr. Rackliffe, who returned in charge of the horses, 
the party from the steamboat embarked, on the after- 
noon of the fourth day of November, 1846, on their 
return, to examine the river down to Laredo. Doctor 
White, and Mr. Misner, from the command at the 
crossing, accompanied them in their dug-out to the 
first falls below, which were at that time only one or 
two feet in height, and at a distance of three or four 
miles from the Illinois and Arkansas camp. 

From this point a succession of reefs and falls, of 
from two to three feet, occur at short intervals, for a 
distance of twenty miles. These reefs in many in- 
stances form solid walls from one island to another, 



UPPER RIO GRANDE. 27 

the river widening to a breadth of more than a mile, 
containing in one group more than twenty islands. 
Several of these reefs were examined from one end to 
the other, and sounded near their coasts, in the hope 
of finding some opening, but to no purpose. The only 
method of passing with safety was, for every one to 
get out of the boat, and after heading her over a 
reef, to force her into the rapids beneath, hanging on 
to her sides, stem and stern, and then climbing in as 
she floated on below. This method, well understood 
among American pioneers and frontiersmen, is not a 
very safe one to be generally followed. At a distance 
of more than fifty miles below Presidio, and on the 
Mexican side, a high rock rises vertically from the 
very water's edge to a height of fifty feet, having an 
even surface. Close by are two rock islands, in mid- 
stream, which at high water cannot be covered. 
Rapids rushing with a tremendous velocity through 
the passage thus formed, render it doubtful, should 
any steamboat attain this point, whether it will be safe 
for it to attempt to pass down it in any stage of the 
river. 

A remarkable coal-mine, in the vicinity of which is 
found a great abundance of what is commonly termed 
red chalk, is to be seen, on the Mexican shore, at not 
a great distance above Laredo, and within two hun- 
dred yards of the river. Standing on coal itself, the 
vein is to be seen eight feet in thickness above the 



28 NOTESONTHE 

base, by actual measurement. This coal is of a very 
superior quality. The range and dip correspond with 
the formations examined at Guerrera and elsewhere, 
and the characteristics in all the formations observed, 
proved to be the same, without any perceptible diffe- 
rence. The coal contains little or no sulphur, burns 
readily and freely, and falls burning into water. It 
answers admirably for welding, as has been proved by 
experiment. In a country where fuel is so very ex- 
pensive as it is on this frontier, these mines must 
prove invaluable, when their uses shall have become 
known. The particular vein just noticed, was traced 
for nearly a quarter of a mile without much interrup- 
tion. It is said that it is about to be worked by a 
company of Americans and Mexicans; and after the 
war is over, they will, in all probability, form a dep6t 
for their coal at the mouth of the Rio Grande, which 
will prove to be an excellent market. The coal-mines 
at Guerrera are owned and worked by a company of 
Americans alone ; and, in opening, taking many cir- 
cumstances into consideration, promise a better yield 
than any mines in the United States. A simple fact 
will illustrate the force of this remark, namely : if these 
mines are found to contain much ore of the precious 
metals, of which there are certainly indications, the 
same labour that affords coal will, at the same time, 
afford silver, and probably gold. 

Gold dust is found in small quantities in almost all 



UPPERRIO GRANDE. 29 

the alluvial deposits above the Rio San Juan. But 
it is problematical, whether or not sufficient quantities 
are contained in these deposits, to justify anything fur- 
ther than an attempt at washing, with a view to ascer- 
taining facts. 

At a distance of fifteen or twenty miles above La- 
redo, there is a wide semicircular basin, almost wholly 
walled in by lofty vertical bluffs, where the river passes 
through a labyrinth of islands, shoals, rocks, reefs, 
and snags, sometimes in rapids, and sometimes in long 
shoots, varying in force with the different stages of the 
stream. Yet, even this place is ascended in fiat-boats 
by Mexicans. 

Presidio de Rio Grande, which is on the direct route 
between San Antonio de Bexar and the interior Mexi- 
can trading and agricultural towns, must, in time, be 
compelled to add to the growth and importance of La- 
redo, while it will derive a reciprocal benefit therefrom. 
Laredo is destined ultimately to become, and to con- 
tinue for years, the head of navigation on the Rio 
Grande. On the Texas side, somewhere in the vicinity 
of the mouth of the Rio Salado, opposite that of the 
Rio Alcantro, or the Alamo, and at the place known 
as " Clay Davis's Landing," just below the San Juan, 
Americans may settle to a better advantage than at 
any other points below Laredo, if they have capital 
enough to begin on. Owing to the requirements of 
the climate, and the character of the soil, but little 
3* 



30 NOTESONTHE 

cultivation is necessary, in order to produce sufficient 
for the support of animal life. Although fine lands 
for cultivation are to be met with, the true wealth of 
these localities, should they ever be made, must be 
drawn from Mexican coffers, in exchange for domestic 
manufactures, and from Mexican productions, whether 
of nature or art, in trade and barter. 

All this may be regarded as an inevitable result, 
destined sooner or later to follow in due order, but not 
as the result of mere human choice. For, to the 
many, there is scarcely a spot on the Texan side of 
the Rio Grande, which at first sight touches the heart, 
and bids it feel there might be home ! From Presidio 
de Rio Grande to the mouth of the river, not one 
constant stream flows into it from the Texas side. 
Scarcely a tree suitable for heavy timber is to be seen 
on either side for this whole distance. And the desire 
for gain (although the love of conquest, or of glory, 
or of justice, or perhaps of the useful, it is expected, 
will place the south-western boundary of our republic 
along this mighty river,) is alone to people it. It ought 
to be well understood, that the poor man who is in- 
duced to emigrate to this border will in all probability 
become still poorer than he was; while those alone 
having capital to invest, and means wherewith to pay 
for necessary and acclimated labour, will derive any 
permanent pecuniary benefit from coming here to 
settle. The wealthy planter of the south may find it 



UPPER RIO GRANDE. 31 

advantageous to remove to some of the points that 
might be selected on the Rio Grande. The merchant, 
the trader, and the miner, may, perhaps, after the war, 
find a new channel opened to them, through which 
wealth may be induced to flow to their hoards. 

While there exists every natural inducement to draw 
speculators to these points, no man can honestly invite 
the American emigrant hither. By American emi- 
grant, is here meant that class of pioneers, who have 
been and always will be leaving their old homes, from 
some cause or other, ready (and may success ever 
attend them,) axe in hand, to hew out their fortunes, 
and to establish new homes for Freemen, in the forests 
to which their fathers pointed in the distance, as being 
what their homes once were. 

In the interior of Texas the case is widely different. 
There, is a field for every one. But as these pages 
were intended merely to embrace a concise statement 
of a few facts, made known to the writer through actual 
observation, and as connected principally with that 
part of the Rio Grande above the San Juan, with a 
few obvious inferences therefrom, it would be super- 
fluous for him to touch upon other matters. 

If, on meeting the eye of those competent and 
willing to undertake the task, a perusal of these pages 
shall cause an actual investigation of facts connected 
with the Upper Rio Grande country in Texas, thereby 
inducing a plain, straight-forward statement of facts 



32 NOTES ON THE UPPER RIO GRANDE. 

to be presented to the American people, in place of 
the stories, purporting to be based upon the best au- 
thorities, and these too often in a language not univer- 
sally understood throughout the country, and which 
are, almost daily, palmed off upon the credulous, one 
step will have been gained; and the hope may then 
be indulged, that when this frontier does become 
settled, it may be the means of turning back into the 
treasury of the American nation, some of the millions 
of which its occupation is said to be draining it, and 
which in fact it is ultimately bound, from the nature 
of things, amply to repay. 



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